
Interview with His Excellency LI 
HUNG CHANG, Grand Sec- 
retary and Special Ambassador 
of His Majesty the Emperor of 

China, by representatives of Foreign 
Missionary Societies in the U. S. A. 

And his Attitude toward Christian 
h/Iissions* 


THE VICEROY : You will be good enough to convey 
the Viceroy's thanks to all those people. The Viceroy 
fully appreciates the philanthrophic object you have in 
view." 


New York, September 1st, 1896. 


INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF 
YOUNG men’s CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, 
40 East 23 d Street, New York City. 


Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2017 with funding from 
Columbia University Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/interviewwithhisOOIiho 


Interview with His Excellency 
Li Hung Chang. 




The visit of Li Hung Chang to the United States, 
after his journey in other parts of the world, has 
been an event of more than passing importance, 
and has excited the greatest interest in all circles. 

His reputation as a prominent official in the 
Chinese government was increased by his negotia- 
tion of the peace treaty with Japan, and to this 
was added, by his journey in other countries, 
the fame of his courtesy and kindliness and a 
knowledge of his intelligent appreciation of that 
which he saw in lands strange to him. 

His arrival in New York was heralded in ad- 
vance of his coming, and preparations were made 
by all classes to give him a suitable reception . The 
Foreign Missionary Boards, which had carried on 
work for. so many years in China, joined with 
others in the desire to recognize and greet the 
Viceroy, and plans were instituted early in the 
summer to secure an interview with him, so as to 
present to him a congratulatory address in recog- 
nition of his well-known friendliness to the foreign 
missionaries in China, and to acknowledge the 
attitude which the Chinese government has habit- 
ually assumed in relation to the missionaries. 

The Hon. E. B. Drew, a Harvard graduate, and 
for about twenty years a resident of China, a 
Mandarin of the third rank and a Commissioner 


of the Imperial Customs of China, was appointed 
to meet and aid the Viceroy during his stay in 
the United States. Associated with Mr. Drew in 
personal relationship to the Viceroy, owing to his 
having been Counsel for the Chinese government 
during the negotiation of the peace treaty with 
Japan, was the Hon. John W. Foster, ex-Secretary 
of State. 

Through the courtesy of Mr. Foster and ^Ir. 
Drew arrangements were made by which the 
Viceroy consented to receive a very small group, 
not to exceed thirty or thirty-five, as representatives 
of all the Foreign Missionary Boards working in 
China. The committee having the matter in charge 
extended the necessar}^ invitations and at nine 
o’clock upon the morning of September ist this 
group met in the Hotel Waldorf, New York City, 
and were immediatel)’ ushered into the audience 
room to meet the Viceroy. The different Boards 
were represented as follows : 

America?i Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
Missions : 

Rev. Judson Smith, D.D,; Rev. A. C. Thomp- 
son, D.D.; Rev, C. C. Creegan, D.D.; Rev. Henry 
Stimson, D.D. 

Board of Foreigfi Missions of Presbyterian 
Church in the U. S. A . ■' 

Rev. John D. Wells, D.D,; Rev. F. F. Ellin- 
woou, D.D.; Rev. Arthur J. Brown, D.D.; Rev. 
Benj. Labaree, D.D.; Hon. Darwin R. James; 
Mr. W.m. Dulles, Jr. 

American Baptist Missionary Union: 

Rev. S. W. Duncan, D.D.; Rev. J. N. Mur- 
dock, D.D.; Rev. H. C. Mabie, D.D.; Rev. H. L 
Morehouse, D.D. 


5 


Board of Foreig}i Missiotis Reformed CJmrch of 
A meric a : 

Rev. D. Sage Mackay, D.D.; Rev. J. L. Amer- 
MAN, D.D.; Rev. H. N. Cobb, D.D.; Francis 
Bacon, Esq.; Peter Donald, Esq, 

Missionary Society, Methodist Episcopal Church : 

Rev. a. B. Leonard, D.D.; Rev. W. T. Smith, 
D.D.; Rev. S. L. Baldwin, D.D. ; Rev. J. M. 
Buckley, D.D.; Mr. J. H. Taft; Mr. John S. 
McLean; Rev. H. H. Lowry, D.D. 

Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, Pro- 
testant Episcopal Church : 

Rev. Joshua Kimber; Rev. A. C. Bunn, D.D,; 
Mr. E. Walter Rober’is. 

American Bible Society : 

Rev. Edward W. Gilman, D.D.; Mr. William 
Foulke. 

International Committee Young Men's Christian 
A ssociation. 

Rev. Richard C. Morse. 

Telegrams, joining in the congratulatory ad- 
dress, were received from — 

Rev. Walter Lambuth, M.D., Board of Foreign 
Missions of the Methodist Church, South. Charles 
H. Winston, Foreign Mission Board, Southern Bap- 
tist Convention. Rev. S. H. Chester, D.D., 
Executive Committee Foreign Missions of the 
Presbyterian Church in the L'nited States. 

Col. John J. McCook was present as a friend of 
the Viceroy, as well as of missions, and there were 
also present Rev. Henry Blodget, D.D., of China, 
and Rev. J. K. Wight. 


6 


The partj’ was seated circling the room, while in 
the center of the room an oval table was placed with 
a few chairs for the convenience of the Viceroy 
and his attendants. Presently the Viceroy, with 
one or two attendants and the interpreter, Lo Fing 
Luh, Mr. Foster and Mr. Drew entered the room. 
The delegation at once rose in greeting, and, with 
a slight bow, the Viceroy seated himself, while 
his interpreter said ; 

‘‘He is very weak in his constitution, if j-ou will 
allow him to take his seat. ” 

Mr. Foster then introduced Dr. Ellinwood, 
Chairman of a Committee which had been ap- 
pointed to prepare and present an Address. A 
copy of this had been placed in the hands of the 
Viceroy’s interpreter for the use of the Viceroy 
before the interview was held. In introducing 
Dr. Ellinwood, Mr. Foster said : 

“ These gentlemen represent eight millions of 
the best citizens of our country. Their missions 
have sixty hospitals in China, and have during 
the last year cured or served half a million sub- 
jects in their hospitals. They also have four 
hundred schools in China, educating twelve 
thousand Chinese children, so that they are not 
only attempting to propagate their religious views, 
but they are attempting to do something for the 
material and intellectual benefit of the Chinese 
people. I will present the representatives of the 
different Boards, and Dr. Ellinwood will make 
the address.” 

The Address had been handsomely engrossed 
in a sealskin portfolio lined with red, and was read 
to the Viceroy by Dr. Ellinwood. During the read- 
ing, the interpreter carefully followed the printed 
copy in his hand, while the Viceroy listened most 
attentivelj' and courteously, though unfamiliar 


7 


with English, occasionally glancing around with 
very keen scrutiny at the different persons present 
before him. 

To His Excellency, Li Hitng Chang, Grand 
Secretary, and Special Ambassador of his 
Majesty, the Emperor of Chma. 


Among the thousands of our countrymen who 
are seeking opportunity to do honor to you and to 
your August Sovereign, we, the representatives 
of various Boards and Societies engaged in Christ- 
ian Missions in China, beg leave to present to you 
our most hearty greetings, and to assure you of 
the profound respect which we cherish toward 
that great and illustrious Empire which you so 
worthily represent. For the last fifty years the 
missionaries of these Boards have been favored 
with the protection of your Government, and we 
are frank to say that in no nation of the world have 
American missionaries received more just and 
even generous treatment than that accorded to 
our missionaries by the Imperial Government of 
China. 

It is remarkable how very few of our missionaries, 
out of the many hundreds who have lived in 
China, have lost their lives through violence, and 
we recall no instance in which such casualties 
have occurred with the sanction or even conni- 
vance of your Government. On the contrary, there 
have been many instances in which local officials, 
who have been remiss in affording proper protec- 
tion, have suffered punishment for their neglect. 
We take special pleasure in paying this tribute 
to the justice and humanity shown by that August 
Power which you have the honor to represent. 

We remember with lively gratitude the various 


8 


edicts and proclamations which have been issued 
by the Imperial Government direct, or by various 
subordinate officials, not only enjoining protection 
to our missionaries, but assuring the people of 
their peaceable intentions and the disinterested 
character of their work. A very remarkable edict 
of this kind was issued in the 5’ear 1891, in the 
name of his August Majesty, the Emperor, and 
written the last year proclamations issued in the 
same spirit, have been made by the Prefects of Pao- 
tingfu, of Ichowfu, of the Nanking district, and 
by the Taoutai of Kiungchow, in Hainan. It is 
extremely gratifying to observe that at the pres- 
ent time the disinterested spirit and labor of our 
missionaries seem to be better understood and 
more thoroughly appreciated than ever before. 

We recall many kindly expressions uttered by 
}murself and others of the appreciation with which 
you regard our educational work, the services of 
missionaries, both men and women, in the hospit- 
als and dispensaries, and the self-denying efforts 
put forth by missionaries in the distribution of 
relief in time of famine. 

On our part we have been conscious from the 
first of only the most disinterested motives. Our 
missionaries have not sought for pecuniary gains 
at the hands of j-our people ; the}' have not been 
secret emissaries of diplomatic schemes ; their 
labors have had no political significance ; they 
have only desired to communicate good. We are 
frank to say that while our work has aimed to 
relieve suffering and to improve the minds of the 
young by education, we have been moved by still 
higher considerations. We do not believe that 
religion is a thing of ethnic limitations, but that 
whatever of truth the Great Author of our being 
has made known to men of any nation, is the 


9 


rightful heritage of all mankind ; and that as 
matter of natural and imperative obligation those 
who believe that they have received the truth are 
bound to make it known to others. If it is of ad- 
vantage to mankind that the commerce of material 
interests and of ideas in science or philosophy 
shall be promoted, we deem it still more import- 
ant that free intercommunication shall be ac- 
corded to those greatest of all truths which con- 
cern the immortal destinies of men. And it is 
with great satisfaction that we have learned of 
the assurance which you gave some months since 
to an American Bishop, that the medical and 
educational work of our missionaries would con- 
tinue to be welcomed and protected in China. In- 
deed, you have for many years given abundant 
proofs of your generous spirit in this regard. 

We have endeavored to prosecute our work in a 
courteous and appreciative spirit. Our most intel- 
ligent missionaries have always shown great re- 
spect for those illustrious sages, Confucius, Men- 
cius and others. It was a missionary who trans- 
lated the Confucian Classics into our language, and 
others have set forth their just merits in many a 
publication for American readers. We have not 
hesitated to express our admiration for the stability 
of your government and institutions, the princi- 
ples of filial reverence and domestic order on which 
your institutions rest, the admirable regulation 
which bases political preferment not upon the 
success of partisan power or skill, but upon com- 
petitive merit. 

We believe that in many of these things we may 
well profit by your example, and on the other 
hand, our only motive in offering to your people 
our medical and educational systems, and the 
great and salutary teachings of our Christian faith 


is our deep conviction that they will prove a 
blessing. 

While we send missionaries to China, we are 
not unmindful of our duty to those of your people 
who have come to our own shores. They have in 
manj^ instances been rudely treated by certain 
classes amongst us, mostly immigrants from other 
lands, but our Christian people have uniformly 
shown them kindness. They have been gathered 
into Sunday schools and evening schools ; their 
rights have been defended in the courts, and 
many times have deputations from the Mission- 
ary Boards and other benevolent societies per- 
titioned our Government in the interest of just 
legislation for the Chinese. 

Were you to \dsit our Pacific Coast, you would 
observe with interest the homes and refuges which , 
with the co-operation of the Chinese Consul-Gen- 
eral, the Christian women of that coast have pro- 
vided for unfortunate Chinese girls who have 
been sold into the most debasing slavery. We 
believe that all these best impulses of philanthropy 
which led our people to forget all divisions of 
nationality and of race, and to stretch out their 
arms in true brotherhood to your people, whether 
here or in China, are the direct fruit of the teach- 
ings of the Divine Founder of Christianity. Hav- 
ing through the influence of the Christian faith 
received so rich an inheritance of blessing, we feel 
constrained in gratitude to God, to regard our- 
selves as debtors to all men. For this reason we 
strive to proclaim in all lands, the knowledge of 
our Divine Teacher and only Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

In closing, permit us to express anew the sat- 
isfaction which we have felt in being permitted to 
meet your Excellency, and to thank you for your 
repeated kindnesses to our missionaries. We thank 


the Great Father of mankind that He has so long 
spared your life in the midst of many perils ; that 
He has permitted you to be of such eminent 
service to your country in many trying emergen- 
cies, which few men of any nation could have 
met with such great ability and success. 

And we commend you to His care as you return 
to your distant home, where you will enjoy the 
consciousness that not only your countrymen but 
all mankind unite in honoring your name. 

After the reading, the Viceroy said, through his 
interpreter : 

“ The Viceroy is very grateful and thankful for 
the kind sentiments which you have so ably ex- 
pressed. The Viceroy highly appreciates the 
philanthropic object which you have always in 
view in improving the souls, the mind and phy- 
sique of all the Chinese. The Viceroy fully appre- 
ciates that all the American missionaries in China 
have disinterested motives. They only work for 
the good of the human kind. The Viceroy 
authorizes me to read his reply to you ” : 

Reply of the Viceroy to the Address of the Mis- 
sionary Societies. 

Gentlemen : It affords me great pleasure to 
acknowledge the grateful welcome to this country 
offered to me by you as the representatives of the 
various Boards and Societies who have engaged 
in China in exchanging our ideas of the greatest 
of all truths which concern the immortal destinies 
of men. 

In the name of my August Master, the Emperor 
of China, I beg to tender to you his best thanks 
for your approval and appreciation for the pro- 
tection afforded to the American missionaries in 
China. What we have done and how little we 


12 


have done on our part is nothing but the duties of 
our government: while the missionaries, as you 
have so ably expressed, have not sought for 
pecuniary gains at the hands of our people. They 
have not been secret emissaries of diplomatic 
schemes. Their labors have no political signifi- 
cance, and the last, not the least, if 1 might be 
permitted to add, they have not interfered with 
or usurped the rights of the territorial authorities. 

In a philosophical point of view, as far as I have 
been enabled to appreciate, Christianity does not 
differ much from Confucianism, as the Golden Rule 
is expressed in a positive form in one, while it is 
expressed in the negative form in another. Logi- 
cally speaking, whether these two forms of ex- 
pressing the same truth cover exactlj’ the same 
ground or not. I leave it to the investigations of 
those who have more philosophical tastes. It is, 
at the present, enough to conclude that there 
exists not much difference between the wise .sayings 
of the two greatest teachers, on the foundations of 
which the whole structure of the two sj'stems of 
morality is built. As man is composed of soul, 
intellect and body, I highly appreciate that your 
eminent Boards, in your arduous and much 
esteemed work in the field of China, have ne- 
glected none of the three. I need not say much 
about the first, being an unknowable mystery of 
which our greatest Confucius had only an active 
knowledge. As for intellect, you have started 
numerous educational establishments which have 
served as the best means to enable our country- 
men to acquire a fair knowledge of the modern 
arts and sciences of the West. As for the material 
part of our constitution, your societies have started 
hospitals and dispensaries to save not onl)- the souls 
but also the bodies of our countrymen. I have 


13 


also to add that in the time of famine in some of 
the provinces you have done your best to the 
greatest number of the sufferers to keep their 
bodies and souls together. 

Before I bring my reply to a conclusion I have 
only two things to mention. 

The first, the opium smoking, being a great 
curse to the Chinese population, your societies 
have tried your best not only as anti-opium soci- 
eties, but to afford the best means to stop the 
craving for the opium; and also you receive none 
as your converts who are opium smokers. 

I have to tender, in my own name, my best 
thanks for jmur most effective prayers to God to 
spare my life when it was imperilled by the 
assassin’s bullet, and for your most kind wishes 
which you have just now so ably expressed in the 
interests of my sovereign, my country and people. 

The Foreign Missionary representatives gave 
close attention to this paper, being most deeply 
interested by the clear, earnest expressions, which 
showed by their discrimination that the Viceroy 
had not only thought of the work actually being 
done in China, but had read with care, by the aid 
of his interpreter, the address presented on behalf 
of the Boards, and all were very much gratified 
by the cordial expressions of the Viceroy in his 
response. 

The members of the delegation were then pre- 
sented by Dr. Ellinwood to the Viceroy, who 
shook hands cordially with each one, occasionally 
pausing and asking some question through his in- 
terpreter. Dr. Wells, President of the Presby- 
terian Board, whose white beard and venerable 
appearance attracted the Viceroy’s attention, was 
asked by the latter, “ How old are you ?” and on 


14 


replying “ eightj'-one,” the Viceroy- responded, 
“ God has kept you ; may He keep you still.” 
Mr, Wight, being presented, had the same question 
asked, and replying, said that he had a son and 
daughter in China. This seemed to interest the 
Viceroy very much. 

At the close of the presentation the Viceroy 
asked Dr. Ellinwood, “ How many Boards and 
Societies are there in China from America ? ” 

Dr. Ellinwood : “ Eleven ; but we represent 
about eight millions of people.” 

The Viceroy : ‘ ‘ They are all represented here ? ” 

Dr. Ellinwood : ‘‘ Yes.” 

The Viceroy : “ YOU WILL BE GOOD 

ENOUGH TO CONVEY THE VICEROY’S 
THANKS TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE, THE 
VICEROY FULLY APPRECIATES THE 
PHILANTHROPHIC OBJECT YOU HAVE 
IN VIEW.” 

As he was going out, the Viceroy asked Col. 
McCook whether he and Mr. Foster were members 
of the societies represented. 

Mr. Foster answered ‘‘ Yes, but we are not min- 
isters ; we are laj-men.” 

The Viceroy : “ Then you are the protectors of 
the Societies? ” 

Col. McC<iok : “Oh, no (laughing); they pro- 
tect us ! ” 

At the close, while the representatives of the 
missions were already beginning to disperse, the 
Viceroj' again spoke to Dr. Ellinwood, laying his 
hand upon his arm, saying, “■ I greatly appreciate 
the kind expressions which 3'ou gentlemen have 
made tome, and especially 3‘our kind wishes for 
ni}- safe return to mj' home.” This added e.xpres- 
sion was evidentlj- heartfelt. 





Interview with His Excellency LI 
HUNG CHANG, Grand Sec- 
retary and Special Ambassador 
of His Majesty the Emperor of 

China, by representatives of Foreign 
Missionary Societies in the U. S. A, 

And his Attitude toward Christian 
Missions, 


THE VICEROY : “You will be good enough to convey 
the Viceroy’s thanks to all those people. The Viceroy 
fully appreciates the philanthrophic object you have in 
view.” 


New York, September 1st, 1896. 

Printed for the AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, 
Which was Instituted in the Year of 

OUR LORD 


MDCCCXVI. 


The Lord shall arise upon thee. 

And his glory shall be seen upon thee; 

And the Gentiles shall come to thy tight. 

And kings to the brightness of thy rising. 

Isaiah 6o. 2 , j. 


And I, if 1 he lifted ujt from the earth, 
iritf dran' idt men unto me. John 12. j2. 


Interview with His Excellency 
Li Hung Chang. 

^ ^ 

The visit of Li Hung Chang to the United States, 
after his journey in other parts of the world, has 
been an event of more than passing importance, 
and has excited the greatest interest in all circles. 

His reputation as a prominent official in the 
Chinese government was increased by his negotia- 
tion of the peace treaty with Japan, and to this 
was added, by his journey in other countries, 
the fame of his courtesy and kindliness and a 
knowledge of his intelligent appreciation of that 
which he saw in lands strange to him. 

His arrival in New York was heralded in ad- 
vance of his coming, and preparations were made 
by all classes to give him a suitable reception . The 
Foreign Missionary Boards, which had carried on 
work for so many years in China, joined with 
others in the desire to recognize and greet the 
Viceroy, and plans were instituted early in the 
summer to secure an interview with him, so as to 
present to him a congrratulatory address in recog- 
nition of his well-known friendliness to the foreign 
missionaries in China, and to acknowledge the 
attitude which the Chinese government has habit- 
ually assumed in relation to the missionaries. 

The Hon. E. B. Drew, a Harvard graduate, and 
for about twenty years a resident of China, a 
Mandarin of the third rank and a Commissioner 


4 

of the Imperial Customs of China, was appointed 
to meet and aid the Viceroy during his stay in 
the United States. Associated with Mr. Drew in 
personal relationship to the Viceroy, ounng to his 
having been Counsel for the Chinese government 
during the negotiation of the peace treaty with 
Japan, was the Hon. John W. Foster, ex-Secretary 
of State. 

Through the courtesy of Mr. Foster and Mr. 
Drew arrangements were made by which the 
Viceroy consented to receive a ver}' small group, 
not to exceed thirty or thirt3’-five,as representatives 
of all the Foreign Missionary- Boards working in 
China. The committee having the matter in charge 
extended the necessary invitations and at nine 
o’clock upon the morning of September ist this 
group met in the Hotel Waldorf, New York City, 
and were immediately ushered into the audience 
room to meet the Viceroy. The different Boards 
were represented as follows : 

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
Missions : 

Rev. Jldson Smith, D.D,; Rev. A. C. Thomp- 
son, D.D.; Rev. C. C. Creegan, D.D.; Rev. Henry 
Stimson, D.D. 

Board of Foreig7i Missiotis of Presbyterian 
Church in the U. S. A. : 

Rev. John D. Wells, D.D,; Rev. F. F. Ellin- 
wood, D.D.; Rev. Arthl'r J. Brown, D.D.; Rev, 
Benj. Labaree, D.D.; Hon. Darwin R. James; 
Mr. W.m. Dulles, Jr. 

Atnerican Baptist Missionary Union; 

Rev. S. W. Dunc.\n, D.D.; Rev. J. N. Mur- 
dock, D.D. : Rev. H. C. Mabie, D.D. ; Rev. H. L 
Morehouse, D.D. 


5 


Board of Foreig n Missions Reformed Church of 
A meric a : 

Rev. D. S.\ge Mackay, D.D.; Rev. J. L. Amer- 
MAN, D.D.; Rev. H. N. Cobb, D.D.; Francis 
E.\con, Esq.; Peter Donald, Esq, 

Missionary Society, Methodist Episcopal Church : 

Rev. a. B. Leonard, D.D.; Rev. W. T. Smith, 
D.D.; Rev. S. L. Baldwin, D.D,; Rev. J. M. 
Buckley, D.D.; Mr. J. H. Taft; Mr. John S. 
McLean; Rev. H. H. Lowry, D.D. 

Domestic and Foreign Missiofiary Society, Pro- 
testant Episcopal Church : 

Rev. Joshua Kimber; Rev. A. C. Bunn, D.D,; 
Mr. E. W.alter Roberts. 

American Bible Society : 

Rev. Edward W. Gilman, D.D.; Mr. Willi.\m 
Foulke. 

Internatio7ial Co)nmittee Young Men's Christian 
A ssociatioti. 

Rev. Richard C. Morse. 

Telegrams, joining in the congratulatory" ad- 
dress, were received from — 

Rev. Walter Lambuth, M.D., Board of Foreign 
Missions ofthe Methodist Church, South. Charles 
H. Winston, Foreign Mission Board, Southern Bap- 
tist Convention. Rev. S. H. Chester, D.D., 
Executive Committee Foreign Missions of the 
Presbyterian Church in the L'nited States. 

Col. John J. McCook was present as a friend of 
the Viceroy, as well as of missions, and there were 
also present Rev. Henry Blodget, D.D., of China, 
and Rev. J. K. Wight. 


6 


The partj’ was seated circling the room, while in 
the center of the room an oval table was placed with 
a few chairs for the convenience of the Viceroy 
and his attendants. Presently the Viceroy, with 
one or two attendants and the interpreter, Lo King 
Luh, Mr. Foster and Mr. Drew entered the room. 
The delegation at once rose in greeting, and, wth 
a slight bow, the Viceroy seated himself, while 
his interpreter said : 

“He is very weak in his constitution, if you will 
allow him to take his seat.” 

Mr. Foster then introduced Dr. Ellinwood, 
Chairman of a Committee which had been ap- 
pointed to prepare and present an Address. A 
copy of this had been placed in the hands of the 
Viceroy’s interpreter for the use of the Viceroy 
before the interview was held. In introducing 
Dr. Ellinwood, Mr. Foster said : 

“These gentlemen represent eight millions of 
the best citizens of our country. Their missions 
have sixty hospitals in China, and have during 
the last year cured or served half a million sub- 
jects in their hospitals. They also have four 
hundred schools in China, educating twelve 
thousand Chinese children, so that they are not 
only attempting to propagate their religious views, 
but they are attempting to do something for the 
material and intellectual benefit of the Chinese 
people. I will present the representatives of the 
different Boards, and Dr. Ellinwood will make 
the address.” 

The Address had been handsomely engrossed 
in a sealskin portfolio lined with red, and was read 
to the Viceroy by Dr. Ellinwood. During the read- 
ing, the interpreter carefully followed the printed 
copy in his hand, while the Viceroy listened most 
attentivel)^ and courteously, though unfamiliar 


7 


with English, occasionally glancing around with 
very keen scrutiny at the different persons present 
before him. 

To His Excellency , Li Hn7ig Cha/ig, Grand 
Secretary, and Special Ambassador of his 
Majesty, the Emperor of China. 


Among the thousands of our countrymen who 
are seeking opportunity to do honor to you and to 
your August Sovereign, we, the representatives 
of various Boards and Societies engaged in Christ- 
ian Missions in China, beg leave to present to you 
our most hearty greetings, and to assure you of 
the profound respect which we cherish toward 
that great and illustrious Empire which you so 
worthily represent. For the last fifty years the 
missionaries of these Boards have been favored 
with the protection of your Government, and we 
are frank to say that in no nation of the world have 
American missionaries received more just and 
even generous treatment than that accorded to 
our missionaries by the Imperial Government of 
China. 

It is remarkable how very few of our missionaries, 
out of the many hundreds who have lived in 
China, have lost their lives through violence, and 
rve recall no instance in which such casualties 
have occurred with the sanction or even conni- 
vance of your Government. On the contrary, there 
have been many instances in which local officials, 
who have been remiss in affording proper protec- 
tion, have suffered punishment for their neglect. 
We take special pleasure in paying this tribute 
to the justice and humanity shown by that August 
Power which you have the honor to represent. 

We remember with lively gratitude the various 


8 


edicts and proclamations which have been issued 
by the Imperial Government direct, or by various 
subordinate officials, not only enjoining protection 
to our missionaries, but assuring the people of 
their peaceable intentions and the disinterested 
character of their work. A very remarkable edict 
of this kind was issued in the j’ear 1891, in the 
name of his August Majesty, the Emperor, and 
wTitten the last year proclamations issued in the 
same spirit, have been made by the Prefects of Pao- 
tingfu, of Ichowfu, of the Nanking district, and 
by the Taoutai of Kiungchow, in Hainan. It is 
extremely gratifying to observ'e that at the pres- 
ent time the disinterested spirit and labor of our 
missionaries seem to be better understood and 
more thoroughly appreciated than ever before. 

We recall many kindly expressions uttered by 
yourself and others of the appreciation with which 
you regard our educational work, the services of 
missionaries, both men and women, in the hospit- 
als and dispensaries, and the self-denying efforts 
put forth by missionaries in the distribution of 
relief in time of famine. 

On our part we have been conscious from the 
first of only the most disinterested motives. Our 
missionaries have not sought for pecuniary gains 
at the hands of j-our people ; they have not been 
secret emissaries of diplomatic schemes ; their 
labors have had no political significance ; they 
have only desired to communicate good. We are 
frank to say that while our work has aimed to 
relieve suffering and to improve the minds of the 
young by education, we have been moved by still 
higher considerations. We do not believe that 
religion is a thing of ethnic limitations, but that 
whatever of truth the Great Author of our being 
has made known to men of any nation, is the 


9 


rightful heritage of all mankind ; and that as 
matter of natural and imperative obligation those 
who believe that they have received the truth are 
bound to make it known to others. If it is of ad- 
vantage to mankind that the commerce of material 
interests and of ideas in science or philosophy 
shall be promoted, we deem it still more import- 
ant that free intercommunication shall be ac- 
corded to those greatest of all truths which con- 
cern the immortal destinies of men. And it is 
wdth great satisfaction that we have learned of 
the assurance which you gave some months since 
to an American Bishop, that the medical and 
educational work of our missionaries would con- 
tinue to be welcomed and protected in China. In- 
deed, you have for many years given abundant 
proofs of your generous spirit in this regard. 

We have endeavored to prosecute our work in a 
courteous and appreciative spirit. Our most intel- 
ligent missionaries have always shown great re- 
spect for those illustrious sages, Confucius, l\Ien- 
cius and others. It was a missionary who trans- 
lated the Confucian Classics into our language, and 
others have set forth their just merits in many a 
publication for American readers. We have not 
hesitated to express our admiration for the stability 
of your government and institutions, the princi- 
ples of filial reverence and domestic order on which 
your institutions rest, the admirable regulation 
which bases political preferment not upon the 
success of partisan power or skill, but upon com- 
petitive merit. 

We believe that in many of these things we may 
well profit by your example, and on the other 
hand, our only motive in offering to your people 
our medical and educational systems, and the 
great and salutarj' teachings of our Christian faith 


is our deep conviction that they will prove a 
blessing. 

While we send missionaries to China, we are 
not unmindful of our dutj' to those of your people 
who have come to our own shores. They have in 
many instances been rudely treated by certain 
classes amongst us, mostly immigrants from other 
lands, but our Christian people have uniformly 
shown them kindness. They have been gathered 
into Sunday- schools and evening schools ; their 
rights have been defended in the courts, and 
many times have deputations from the Mission- 
ary' Boards and other benevolent societies per- 
titioned our Government in the interest of just 
legislation for the Chinese. 

Were you to visit our Pacific Coast, you would 
obsers-e with interest the homes and refuges which, 
with the co-operation of the Chinese Consul-Gen- 
eral, the Christian women of that coast have pro- 
vided for unfortunate Chinese girls who have 
been sold into the most debasing slavery. We 
believe that all these best impulses of philanthropy 
which led our people to forget all divisions of 
nationality and of race, and to stretch out their 
arms in true brotherhood to your people, whether 
here or in China, are the direct fruit of the teach- 
ings of the Divine Founder of Christianity. Hav- 
ing through the influence of the Christian faith 
received so rich an inheritance of blessing, we feel 
constrained in gratitude to God, to regard our- 
selves as debtors to all men. For this reason we 
strive to proclaim in all lands, the knowledge of 
our Divine Teacher and only Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

In closing, permit us to express anew the sat- 
isfaction which we have felt in being permitted to 
meet your Excellency, and to thank you for your 
repeated kindnesses to our missionaries. We thank 


the Great Father of mankind that He has so long 
spared your life in the midst of many perils ; that 
He has permitted you to be of such eminent 
service to your country in many trying emergen- 
cies, which few men of any nation could have 
met with such great ability and success. 

And we commend you to His care as you return 
to your distant home, where you will enjoy the 
consciousness that not only your countrymen but 
all mankind unite in honoring your name. 

After the reading, the Viceroy said, through his 
interpreter : 

The Viceroy is very grateful and thankful for 
the kind sentiments which you have so ably ex- 
pressed. The Viceroy highly appreciates the 
philanthropic object which you have always in 
view in improving the souls, the mind and phy- 
sique of all the Chinese. The Viceroy fully appre- 
ciates that all the American missionaries in China 
have disinterested motives. They only work for 
the good of the human kind. The Viceroy 
authorizes me to read his reply to you ” ; 

Reply of the Viceroy to the A ddress of the Mis- 
sionary Societies. 

Gentlemen : It affords me great pleasure to 
acknowledge the grateful welcome to this country 
offered to me by you as the representatives of the 
various Boards and Societies who have engaged 
in China in exchanging our ideas of the greatest 
of all truths which concern the immortal destinies 
of men. 

In the name of my August Master, the Emperor 
of China, I beg to tender to you his best thanks 
for your approval and appreciation for the pro- 
tection afforded to the American missionaries in 
China. What we have done and how little we 


have done on our part is nothing but the duties of 
our government: while the missionaries, as you 
have so ably expressed, have not sought for 
pecuniary gains at the hands of our people. They 
have not been secret emissaries of diplomatic 
schemes. Their labors have no political signifi- 
cance, and the last, not the least, if I might be 
permitted to add, they have not interfered with 
or usurped the rights of the territorial authorities. 

In a philosophical point of view, as far as I have 
been enabled to appreciate, Christianiiy does not 
differ much from Confucianism, as the Golden Rule 
is expressed in a positive form in one, while it is 
expressed in the negative form in another. Logi- 
cally speaking, whether these two forms of ex- 
pressing the same truth cover exactly the same 
ground or not, I leave it to the investigations of 
those who have more philosophical tastes. It is, 
at the present, enough to conclude that there 
exists not much difference between the wise sayings 
of the two greatest teachers, on the foundations of 
which the whole structure of the two sj^stems of 
morality is built. As man is composed of soul, 
intellect and body, I highly appreciate that your 
eminent Boards, in your arduous and much 
esteemed work in the field of China, have ne- 
glected none of the three. I need not say much 
about the first, being an unknowable mystery of 
which our greatest Confucius had only an active 
knowledge. As for intellect, you have started 
numerous educational establishments which have 
served as the best means to enable our country- 
men to acquire a fair knowledge of the modern 
arts and sciences of the West. As for the material 
part of our constitution, your societies have started 
hospitals and dispensaries to save not only the souls 
but also the bodies of our countrymen. I have 


13 


also to add that in the time of famine in some of 
the provinces you have done your best to the 
greatest number of the sufferers to keep their 
bodies and souls together. 

Before I bring my reply to a conclusion I have 
only two things to mention. 

The first, the opium smoking, being a great 
curse to the Chinese population, your societies 
have tried your best not only as anti-opium soci- 
eties, but to affoi-d the best means to stop the 
craving for the opium; and also you receive none 
as your converts who are opium smokers. 

I have to tender, in my own name, my best 
thanks for your most effective prayers to God to 
spare my life when it was imperilled by the 
assassin’s bullet, and for your most kind wishes 
which you have just now so ably expressed in the 
interests of my sovereign, my country and people. 

The Foreign Missionary representatives gave 
close attention to this paper, being most deeply 
interested by the clear, earnest expressions, which 
showed by their discrimination that the Viceroy 
had not only thought of the work actually being 
done in China, but had read with care, by the aid 
of his interpreter, the address presented on behalf 
of the Boards, and all were very much gratified 
by the cordial expressions of the Viceroy in his 
response. 

The members of the delegation were then pre- 
sented by Dr. Ellinwood to the Viceroy, who 
shook hands cordially with each one, occasionally 
pausing and asking some question through his in- 
terpreter. Dr. Wells, President of the Presby- 
terian Board, whose white beard and venerable 
appearance attracted the Viceroy’s attention, was 
asked by the latter, “ How old are you ? ” and on 


replying “ eight3’-one, ” the Viceroj- responded, 
“ God has kept j'ou ; may He keep j'ou still.” 
Mr. Wight, being presented, had the same question 
asked, and reph’ing, said that he had a son and 
daughter in China. This seemed to interest the 
Viceroy verj’ much. 

At the close of the presentation the Viceroy 
asked Dr. Ellinwood, “ How many Boards and 
Societies are there in China from America ? ” 

Dr. Ellinwood : “ Eleven ; but we represent 
about eight millions of people.” 

The Viceroy : “ Thej' are all represented here ? ” 

Dr. Ellinwood : “ Yes.” 

The Viceroy: “YOU WILL BE GOOD 
ENOUGH TO CONVEY THE VICEROY’S 
THANKS TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE. THE 
VICEROY FULLY APPRECIATES THE 
PHILANTHROPHIC OBJECT YOU HAYE 
IN VIEW.” 

As he was going out, the Viceroj* asked Col. 
McCook whether he and Mr. Foster were members 
of the societies represented. 

Mr. Foster answered “ Yes, but we are not min- 
isters ; we are laj-men.” 

The Viceroy ; “ Then j-ou are the protectors of 
the Societies? ” 

Col. JIcCook : “Oh, no (laughing); thej' pro- 
tect us ! ” 

At the elose, while the representatives of the 
missions were already beginning to disperse, the 
Viceroj' again spoke to Dr. Ellinwood, laying his 
hand upon his arm, sa}dng, ■' I greatlj' appreciate 
the kind expressions which j’ou gentlemen have 
made tome, and especiallj" j’our kind wishes for 
my safe return to mj- home.” This added expres- 
sion was evidently- heartfelt. 


THE VICEROY AND HIS IDEAS. 

[From the Independent.] 

Li Hung Chang is the most unique personality we 
have ever welcomed from abroad. . . . Even when 
he talks about religion, he talks not as we imagine a 
heathen ought to talk, but as one who is not far from 
us in thought and feeling, though differing widely 
from us in matters of creed, custom, and ceremony. 
He begins by acknowledging religious truths as the 
greatest of all truths, concerning, as they do, “ the im- 
mortal destinies of men,” declares that China has only 
done its duty in protecting Christian missionaries, and 
pays the missionaries the tribute (which some of their 
countrymen have denied) of conceding that their aim 
is not “pecuniary gains,” that they are not “secret 
emissaries of diplomatic schemes,” that their “ labors 
have no political significance,” and that they have not 
“interfered with nor usurped the rights of the terri- 
torial authorities.” He goes further, to the discom- 
fiture of some of our smart naval officers, and declares 
that the missionaries have provided the “ best means” 
to give the Chinese a knowledge of modem arts and 
sciences, have established “dispensaries and hospi- 
tals to save not only the soul but the body of our 
countrymen,” and have done their best to relieve 
sufferers by famine. Nor does he omit to add a 
word of hearty appreciation of the work of the mis- 
sionaries in lessening the evil of opium smoking. 

It is to be remembered that it is a heathen, accord- 
ing to our method of classification, who renders to 
Christian missionaries this meed of praise for their 
purity of purpose, for their broad humanity, and for 
their unselfish labors. Although himself a disciple of 
Confucius, he shows none of the prejudices of a sec- 
tarian. . . . \Ve are far from claiming that Li Hung 
Chang is a Christian ; we simply desire to point out 
that he is a very broad-minded heathen, who, while 
he adheres to his own peculiar religion, appreciates 
Christianity and gives Christian missions in China 
the most remarkable tribute they have ever received 
from a non- Christian source. 




